US platform Prosper lent out £2bn in 2017
US PEER-TO-PEER lending giant Prosper reported a 31 per cent rise in loan originations to $2.88bn (£2.02bn) in 2017, while its net losses narrowed slightly to $115m.
The consumer loans platform said in its full-year results on Monday that it had seen a 37 per cent rise in transaction revenues to $130m over the period.
$89m of its net loss in 2017 related to warrants to purchase preferred stock that were issued to a consortium of investors and a third party in connection with a settlement agreement, Prosper said, although further details were not disclosed in the release.
Adjusted core earnings were up $43m year-on-year and hit positive territory of $5m in 2017, up from 2016’s loss of $37.9m.
Prosper also said that it generated cash from operations for three consecutive quarters, starting in the second quarter of 2017.
Read more: VPC continues shift away from P2P with sale of Prosper loans
“During 2017, Prosper put its business on solid footing and saw a return to strong growth, driven by stable funding and continued demand from borrowers who want to refinance high-interest debt at a time when credit card interest rates are rising,” said David Kimball, chief executive of Prosper.
It means Prosper has now lent more than $11bn since it was founded in 2005, which, Kimball says places it “among the few marketplace lending companies that have achieved true scale.”
Read more: Kimball replaces Vermut as Prosper CEO
During 2017, Prosper launched its own securitisation programme, which it said resulted in three over-subscribed deals worth $1.5bn, attracting more than 45 investors.
“The launch of PMIT was an important step in broadening our investor base, attracting new investors to the platform, and diversifying our funding sources,” said Usama Ashraf, chief financial officer of Prospe. “We look forward to expanding our securitisation program in 2018 and continuing to build confidence and interest in the consumer credit asset class.”
Prosper closed a series G funding round in September, raising $50m from an investment fund co-managed by FinEx Asia and Hong Kong’s LPG Capital.
